Secession Black India Pale Ale (CDA) | Hopworks Urban Brewery

0 characters.
We love reviews! Turn your rating into one with ≥ 150 characters. Awesome. Thanks for the review!

In English, explain why you're giving this rating. Your review must discuss the beer's attributes (look, smell, taste, feel) and your overall impression in order to indicate that you have legitimately tried the beer. Nonconstructive reviews may be removed without notice and action may be taken on your account.

Reviews by enznevr:

More User Reviews:

Not only is this beer organic, it is a certified carbon-neutral beer as well ... with the attitude of being a CDA (Cascadian Dark Ale). This is PNW style all the way.

Deep dark brown, only a shade or two away from black. Lots of head comes from a healthy pouring. Pleasing citric, hemp-like and minty hop aroma with grilled bread in the back. Hoppiness is certainly the dominant presence here, with lots of herbal, citric, hemp seed, mint and orangey flavors. The bitterness has no problem shouting that it is the boss, though it does cede some ground to the blackness of the beer: Toasted and faintly roasted malt pops out in the middle ... perhaps a hint of unsweetened chocolate here? Light hop resin sticks, even in the aftertaste.

While this beer is screaming that it is indeed an IPA, the darkness brings a lovely fold to a pretty damn stellar beer. Whether a trend or a bona fide beer style, look no further.

The beer pours a dark brownish-red color with a white head. The aroma is strong resiny hops with some roasted malt. The flavor is resiny hops with just the lightest amount of roasted malt. Still, this beer is all about the hops. Medium mouthfeel and medium carbonation.

22oz bomber, the label displaying a nice painted visual of a geographical representation of Cascadia - weird how there is still a border between WA and OR, but not between WA and BC - hmmm.

This beer pours a clear, rather dark reddish cola hue, with two pudgy fingers of creamy, foamy, and bubbly beige head, which leaves a barely-broken paint job of cobwebbed lace around the glass as everything falls away.

It smells of roasted, almost meaty bready caramel malt, watery pine notes, soft, warm citrus, and a more prominent earthy grassiness. The taste is still big on the roasted caramel malt - now with an additional grainy wheatiness - some dry coffee grounds, faint milky cocoa, and bitter grassy, citrusy, and piney hops.

The carbonation is heady in its forceful frothiness, but not actually overbearing, the body medium weight, a little airy, but fairly smooth overall. It finishes off-dry, the lessened, but still toasty malt getting pushed around by the earthy, piney hop bitterness.

A pretty good Cascadian Dark Ale, representative of the nascent style - balanced, in a high-flying sort of manner, the roasted and coffee flavours adding another dimension to the often bloated malt/hop interplay. Interesting in a distracted way, at least until the next mini style evolution comes loping along.

Somewhat diapointing for the style, as a beer. Fresh bottle from Zyn in Calgary. Black body, high IBU, more roastiness in he flavour. Lacey Lots of really roasty as in burnt parts. Hops and citrus in finish. Lace rings. Grows on me, but I am just OK on it.

Big thumbs up for the name / bottle design on this bomber. I've tried "The Audacity of Hops" and "Hop Obama" but here's a beer with a less mainstream political statement: Cascadian independence. The label clearly defines Cascadia as all of Oregon, Washington, and BC. No Northern California allowed -- nor Western Idaho. It also defines 6.5% ABV, 15° P, and 70 IBU.

Beer pours a dark brown color with a tiny head. Aroma is of spicy hops, slightly piney, but not particularly citrusy. Flavor is super mellow with a substantial load of roasted barley, giving this CDA a malt profile worthy of interest on its own, rather than just a dark backdrop for a black Northwest style IPA. The profile of the bitterness doesn't strike me as particularly dominant or otherwise an IPA, but there's enough there to bring great balance along with a piney hop profile, suggesting perhaps Amarillo more than C-hops. The malt side there are nutty flavors, toast, and chocolate. But the mouthfeel is all brown ale, not stout or porter.

Smell: heavy hop punch followed with some roasted malt aromas, chocolate, fudge, a little coffee and some alcohol soaked currants. Smells quite good and inviting.

Taste: Hops, sweet currants and coffee flavors stand out, with some more hop flavor and some chocolate, a bit of currant and anise, with a bit of bitterness that seems to come more from the roasted malt than the hops. My mouth tastes like I've been eating raw hops espresso beans after drinking this beer. The alcohol is there but oddly subtle, especially considering how fresh this beer is.

Feel: full bodied, a little chewy good carbonation, just right for the style. Very smooth and easy going down!

Overall: First time I've had this one, second time I've had a beer from this brewery and both time I"ve been impressed! Delicious beer and I should also note that the price only adds to how great this beer is. At 4.99 for a bomber in a market where you should expect to spend over 6-7 for a bomber of anything and much more for a yummy porter'esk' beer like this one, this is an amazing deal.
Serving type: bottle

A: Cola black, almost impenetrable to light, a little bit reddish (like black cherry) when held to light, but mostly just black. A couple fingers of head about the colour of chocolate milk.

S: A bit piney, dark bread, no citrus or floral notes.

T: I might be crazy, but there's something about this beer that reminds me of sausages. I wouldn't really say it's smokey, but there's some sort of charred/grilled flavour going on here. Bitter and a bit piney, but not without dark malt flavours. This beer has a taste unlike any I've ever tried, and it's certainly not awful, but it's not really to my liking, either. It's the char/smoke flavour I'm not crazy about.

Pours black with a large tan head.
Lots of roasty malt as a flavour along with menthol, pine and smoke. Interesting.
Flavours include coffee grounds, roasted malt, caramel, piny hops, spicy notes. Finishes with a bold bitterness with both piny and roasty components.
Carbonation is just a little high.

Black with two fingers of tan head and moderate lacings. Smell is citrus hops and coffee chocolate aromas. Taste is like a Very bold stout jacked to a full IPA level. Citrus resinous hops with a full stout malt backing. Weird but tasty. Mouthfeel is on the thin side but the hops just keep washing over the palate. A sweet and slightly bitter semi-dry finish. My first of the Cascadian Black IPA style. I had this following a Lagunitas IPA and this slammed the Lagunitas! Phew! If you like both Stouts and NW IPAs give it a try. I think you will love it.